FMD epidemic farmer’s tragedy of the year

The region has over the last two decades been experiencing the recurrence of the FMD due to a number of reasons amongst them elephants destroying the border fence paving way for cattle to move freely between Botswana and Zimbabwe, thus spreading the disease.

The last outbreak of FMD in Zone 6b which is part of the region, took place in April 2010. This year’s outbreak in which the first confirmed cases were recorded in Butale village in August 2022, did not come as a surprise for the pastoral farmers.